A Christmas Tale
by Fighting-this-War
Summary: Ok the same ole same ole, mulder spends xmas with scully and her family...MS r


Dusk was beginning to fall and this worried her. They only had what looked like another 2 hrs of light and she wanted to arrive at her mother's house before dark fell completely. She peered out of the car which now had rain spray sprinkled on the wind screen, blocking her view slightly, and tried to see if Mulder was coming.

"Hurry up!" She growled under her breath. As if by magic the car door suddenly opened and there appeared Mulder, 3 bags of sunflower seeds in his arms and a grocery bag.

"What the hell took you so long?" Scully snapped as he got back inside the car, handing her the grocery bag.

"Had to stop off to get these." He told her, brandishing the bags on seeds in his arms to which she rolled her eyes at.

"Well come on, I wanna get there before dark." She told him; waiting for him to start the car up before they began driving to her mother's house once again.

"Don't worry bout it Scully, I got it under control." He told her, to which she rolled her eyes. "Sunflower seed?"  
"No…thank-you." She sighed; this was going to be a long weekend.

An hour later, Mulder came to an intersection, without looking, he eagerly began to call out for Scully.

"Err..Scully which way-" he began to say but upon turning to face her, he realised she was slouched against the window, hair strands draped over her face, her eyes were closed and she was asleep. Without the heart to wake her, he simply pulled over into the nearest busy restaurant to ask for directions, which he did so swiftly. He looked over to her once the car had stopped and before he neither knew what he was doing nor before he could stop himself, he reached out to her, brushing a stray strand of her rusty red hair out of her face and she moved into his touch, moaning in her sleep.

"I'll be right back." He whispered before ducking out of the car and into the rain, running eagerly across to the small neon sign that showed a restaurant bar was present.

He entered the building looking rather wet and bedraggled, his hair clung to his face and he was leaning down slightly to get his breath.

"May I help you sir?" an old man behind the counter asked Mulder who simply looked around his new surroundings before slowly proceeding towards the bar area.

"My partner and I are a little lost on the intersection across the street and we need to get to the main highway so we can get to Castle Rock, Maine." Mulder explained, revealing a pen and a small piece of paper out of his pocket. "This is the road we're meant to be on."

He showed the man the piece of paper.

"Ahh, I see, erm, do you need directions just past the intersection, or all the way?" the man asked, flashing a grin at the other old man sitting at the bar.

"Erm, well my partner is getting kinda anxious, she wants to get to her mother's house before midnight you see, so I guess all the way would be good thanks." Mulder asked in a polite tone as he handed the pen to the man.

The old man looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow '_she?' _to which the man's friend just shot him a cold '_mind your own business!' _reply.

Mulder quickly looked at his watch, seeing it was 10:30, he decided he would go and retrieve Scully from the car for a quick drink, he knew she could kill for a drink for her dehydration.

"You know what, while you do that, I'm going to go and bring her in here to have a drink." Mulder spoke thoughtfully.

"Ok sir." The man smiled as Mulder left again.

The rain had not stopped and Mulder was again soaked as he ran across the parking lot for the second time.

Quickly, he opened the door the car door to a startled Scully who looked up at him with bewilderment.

"Where the hell did you go??!!" she yelled at him.

"Calm down Scully, I went to get some directions." He told her softly and her once cold stare had softened slightly.

"I was worried." She barely admitted as she looked away.

"Well I just wanted to see if you wanted a drink." He smiled broadly but she shook her head, much to his dismay.

"All the way up here, you have been complaining about thirst, so you're coming in there with me." He told her, making sure she didn't have a choice.

Before she could object, he leaned into the car, securing his arms around her body, lifting her out of the car and hanging her over his shoulder whilst she thrashed and screamed.

"NOO!" she cried hysterically before she broke into a fit of giggles as he kicked open the door and set her down on the ground, the old men looking at her in a perverse mannered way.

"I've done your directions sir, now what will you be having? Ma'am?" the man asked and Scully shook her head quietly.

"She'll have a dry white wine and I'll have just a coke." He told the barman before leading her to a table near the back of the room, retrieving the paper with the directions on the way to the back.

"Why'd you order for me?" She asked, a tired look on her face.

"Because you need a drink and you're too stubborn to admit it!" he leaned into her and whispered.

"I don't need a drink!" she hissed but he shook his head smiling as the man came over with their drinks.

"Drink up pretty woman, we got a trip to travel." Mulder grinned as he knocked back most of his coke. He looked at her and was taken aback, _if looks could kill I'd be dead right now, _he thought. "Come on Scully, I'm trying to make this trip bearable and you're not making it any easier for me."

She looked at him, a stern look plastered on her face as she raised her glass to her lips. She sighed.  
"You didn't have to invite me to come to your mother's!" Mulder cried, trying to get her to see sense but still she said nothing. He drank the remains of his coke and stood up, putting his coat on. "I'm gonna wait outside."

He sat down on the curb, not angry, more upset that she had acted in such a way. He was so absorbed that he didn't hear her coming up behind him until she was seated beside him, feeling the now drizzling rain hitting her head in dull patterns.

"I'm ready to go." She simply said, expecting him to say something in reply.

"Ok." Was the only reply she got as he took the keys out of his pocket and made his way to the car, Scully following in dismay.

The car was started within seconds and they were ready to go.

"Mulder?" she spoke as he took a left at the intersection and he grunted in reply. "Look I didn't mean to offend you, I just know how to look after myself, I don't need you ordering drinks for me etc."

He sighed, he had overreacted he knew but he was just trying his best.

"Scully, it's Christmas." He turned to her for a split second and she nodded.

"Yes, I was aware of that fact." She answered.

"Can I ask why you're dragging me along to your _family _gathering? Notice my heavy emphasis on the word 'family'." He sighed and she looked somewhat startled or taken aback. Before she could answer, he did for her. "Do you feel sorry for me? Is that it? All gotta feel sorry for Spooky Mulder cos he aint got no family or anywhere to go for Christmas?! Bet half the guys at work wish I'd get abducted by aliens for Christmas, probably think I'd be more at home there!"

She didn't say anything; instead she raised a hand to rub her temple.

"I knew it." He scowled. "If I just pull over here, you can drop me off and just go to your mom's anyway."

"Don't be so stupid!! How the hell would you get back anyway?!" she hissed.

"Maybe I'd get abducted on the way home." He barely spoke but she heard it and his words strangely stung her.

For the rest of the 1-hour journey, they sat in silence, the only sound of breathing and hearts beating to fill the air.

At 11.45 they finally arrived at her mom's house looking rather worn out with each other when her mother finally answered the door.

"DANA!! FOX!!" her mom cried as soon as they got in the door, bombarding them with hugs and kisses.

"Where are Charlie, Missy and Bill?" Scully asked, looking around.

"Missy and Charlie are at the 24hr store getting some things for you guys, drinks etc and Bill is arriving tomorrow with Tara and the kids." Her mom explained as Fox held out the bottle of wine they had brought with them.

"God, you 2 must have had a horrific trip up here with the rain and all." Maggie Scully began to chat away as Scully flashed a look at Mulder.

Suddenly the door swung open and Melissa and Charlie walked in.

"Hey guys!" they both yelled in unison, hugging the two as they got welcomed and entered the warm house.

Maggie was sensing some hostile atmosphere between Dana and Fox and decided it would be best if they were left alone for a little while so she eagerly called out Melissa and Charlie to 'help out' in the kitchen.

"Oh here we go!" Dana growled under her breath. Mom's way of getting me alone with someone to talk relationships, she thought to herself. "Look Mulder, I don't feel sorry for you, well not in that way." She sighed.

"Oh come on Scully, I'm not stupid, you're just like all the others!" he growled.

"if that's how you think of me, then maybe we shouldn't be having this conversation!" She hissed as he left the room, eagerly taking the stairs 2 at a time in a hurry to get to her room.

"Erm, mom what just happened?" Melissa asked her mother as she watched her younger sister retreat upstairs.

"I don't know." Maggie sighed, deciding it best to go upstairs to see her daughter.

When she heard the knock on the door, Scully looked up in anticipation, only letting out the breath she was holding when her mother appeared in the doorway.

"Is everything ok between you and Fox?" Maggie asked and Scully nodded.

"No." She sighed when she saw the look of disbelief on Maggie's face. "We had a stupid fight in a bar an hour ago."

"I see." Maggie sighed, taking her daughter into her arms.

"I already tried apologising but he just wouldn't have it." Dana let out a strained sob into Maggie's shoulder. "What am I gonna do?"

"I don't know sweetie." Maggie spoke softly, rubbing a hand up and down her daughter's back.

"Now I know you're gonna think that I'm just jumping to wild conclusions here, but I think I may be right this time. There is something there for our young Fox isn't there?" Maggie asked her and she lifted her head off of her mother's shoulder.

"How'd you mean?" Scully asked, a frowning creasing her brow.

"Dana, are you going to sit there and tell me you don't have a strong affection for Fox?" Maggie asked and Scully slumped backwards slightly.

"I guess I've never thought about it like that, I've always seen him as there, in my life I guess." Scully frowned at her sudden change of emotion.

"Go and talk to him, so you guys can have a happy Christmas tomorrow." Maggie's eyes began to sparkle as Scully walked down the stairs with her.

"Mulder?" Scully called but found no reply.

"He went out back!" Charlie called from the kitchen.

Scully immediately went outside, finding Mulder sitting on the swinging chair overlooking the beautiful scenery.

"Mulder…" Scully spoke softly, wondering if she really expected an answer.

"Mm?" he grunted in reply.

"We need to talk." She spoke as she came to stand in front of him.

"Listen, I know I don't fit in here, and that's fine, I'm just gonna book myself on the next flight to DC." He sighed.

"All this because of that stupid fight?" She cried, tears flooding her eyes.

"It's not just because of that stupid fight. I've had doubts all the way up here, about not fitting in with the family thing, I'm just not meant for that, not cut out for it. It just took me this trip to realise it. I shouldn't have come, I'm sorry." He never once looked up at her through his tear jerking monologue and this pissed her off.  
"Well…I don't know what to say to that." She admitted and he finally looked at her, but this forced her to look away.

"Goodbye would be a start." He was trying to make the conversation lighter but was failing terribly.

"No, I'm not gonna say goodbye, why the hell should I? I brought you down here, because you are my best friend, my partner, the one person I will always see in my life and you wanna go home??" she yelled just as he looked at her.

"You don't mean that." He told her in a matter of fact tone.

"Don't tell me what I mean!" she hissed.

He looked at her.

"And to think for a god forsaken minute I loved you!!" she hissed before turning on her heel and proceeded to go inside.

"Wha-what?" he stammered, struggling to get his words out.

"You heard." She barely whispered as she entered the house, Mulder in tow shortly behind her.

"Such an ass!!" Mulder hissed at himself as she proceeded up the stairs without a second glance at him.

Before he had a chance to follow her there was a strong knocking on the door and Charlie called for Mulder to get it.

"Oh great what are you doing here?" the man at the door spoke when he saw Mulder.

_Merry Christmas to you too Bill! _Mulder thought.

"Well actually I'm leaving pretty soon." Mulder told him.

"Good, I don't need you messing up my sister's head!" Bill lectured.

Before the fight could progress, Scully had already rejoined the celebrations and was walking towards them.

"Bill, just cut the BS and leave him alone!" she warned her older brother.

Maggie must have heard her son's voice as she came out eagerly to hug him, noticing the time on the VCR.

"You're early!!" She screeched with excitement and scully too looked at her watch: 2:30 Christmas Morning.

"I'm gonna go to bed." She suddenly spoke, startling Mulder slightly who turned to say goodnight but before he got a chance she was already walking away.

Scully hastily changed into silk pyjamas and thoroughly brushed her hair with a thick bristled brush on the dresser. She then just sat and stared at her reflection in the mirror, angered at what she saw: a shadow of a powerful woman.

The door creaked open and without looking up, she knew who had entered her room.

He didn't say anything as he swiftly made his way across the room until he was standing in front of as he knelt down and placed one of his hands on her knee, causing her to look up.

"Erm, listen I'm sorry about earlier, I really am." He told her but she shook her head softly. "I just wanted to say goodnight." He spoke but after casting a glance at his watch he noticed it was more morning. "Well good morning actually."

"Don't Mulder." She simply warned before he leaned up, brushing his lips against hers in a long sweet savoured kiss before pulling away and standing up.

"Well, see you later…I guess." He sighed but she eagerly reached out for his hand, her small fingers enclosing around his forearm.

"Wait! You give me a kiss like that and expect to walk away??" she scowled slightly before letting her lips curl into a smile as he bent his head and crushed his lips against hers once more, her hands reaching up to caress his neck.

Scully came down later that morning looking more than happy as Mulder came down a few minutes later. They entered the living room to find everyone crowded round the tree, little Matt with unwrapped gifts in front of him, wrapping paper all around his body.

"Hey everyone." Mulder and scully spoke in unison and both sported wide smiles.

"Morning dear." Her mother came to give her daughter a hug and kissed Mulder on the cheek. "Glad to see you both up."  
Everyone else minus Bill and Matt gave them warm smiles and good mornings whereas Matt jumped up to give his aunt a hug.

"DANY!!" he yelled as she hugged him back.

"Hey kiddo!" she smiled.

"Uncle mouldy!!" he yelled at Mulder who couldn't help but laugh when he saw scully's expression as the little kid ran to his 'uncle' and hugged him. Bill sat still, staring ahead of him, not caring for the fact his youngest sister was trying to make Christmas more pleasant.

"Merry Christmas Dana." Bill finally spoke, standing up to tightly hug his sister, before turning to Mulder. "Erm happy Christmas to you too."

He extended his hand to Mulder and they shook hands, shocking both Mulder and Scully.

"Merry Christmas bill." Mulder smiled.

A couple of hours later.

"Mulder?" Scully turned to look at the man sitting beside her as she let her thoughts run wild.

"Mmm?" he mumbled, letting the drowsiness take over him every now and then.

"This is the best Christmas I've ever had." She smiled, leaning over to him so she could lay her head on his chest as they looked at the stars, lying on the grassy yard of her childhood home.

"Mine too." He smiled warmly as he secured his arm around her waist.

"Fox, Dana!" the moment of serenity was interrupted by the sound of Mrs Scully and Melissa's voices calling to find the pair.

"Yeah?" Scully got up and faced the two women looking at her from the doorway.

"Do either of you want some pudding?" Her mother smiled as she left Melissa in the kitchen and came out into the yard to see how Mulder and Scully were spending their time. Scully turned to look at Mulder who was lazily lifting himself from the ground but only to flop back down again, almost falling asleep immediately.

"Erm, yeah, I'll just get him awake and bring him in soon, thanks mom." Scully smiled.

"Ok, I'll see you inside in a little while." Her mother smiled back and turned to go inside, pausing when to look back at her daughter when she knew she wasn't looking.

Scully bent down to take Mulder's hand but because he was pretending to be so heavy for a while, and in the meantime brought scully down on top of him resulting with them both giggling and laughing like teenagers.

Mrs Scully smiled sweetly before savouring the moment and proceeding back inside the house.

"Come on, I told my mom we'd be back inside in a minute." Scully laughed as Mulder pulled her close to him.

"Well let's just have one more minute yeah?" he smiled, letting his lips linger on her neck, trailing kisses down towards her collarbone.

"Ok one minute's up!" Scully looked at him. "Time to go inside and get pudding."

"But I've already had mine!" he cried and she laughed as she got up, leaving him alone on the grass. He eagerly shot up as she began to walk into the house and began to follow her. This Christmas wouldn't be so bad afterall…


End file.
